Editing Milos (section)

==History==
[[File:Lady of Phylakopi, 14th c BC, AM Milos, B 655, 152497.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The ''Lady of Phylakopi'' (14th-century BC) in the [[Archaeological Museum of Milos]]]]

[[Obsidian]] (a glass-like volcanic rock) from Milos was a commodity as early as [[Obsidian hydration dating|15,000]] years ago.<ref>N. Laskaris, A. Sampson, F. Mavridis, I. Liritzis, (September 2011) "Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene seafaring in the Aegean: new obsidian hydration dates with the SIMS-SS method" Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 38, Issue 9, pp.2475–2479</ref> Natural glass from Milos was transported over long distances and used for razor-sharp "stone tools" well before farming began and later: "There is no early farming village in the [[Near East]] that doesn't get obsidian".<ref>C. Renferew</ref> The mining of obsidian did not lead to the development of permanent habitation or manufacturing on the island. Instead, those in search of obsidian arrived by boat, beaching it in a suitable cove and cutting pieces of the volcanic glass from the quarries.<ref name=abulafia>{{cite book |title=[[The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean]] |author=David Abulafia |author-link=David Abulafia |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-14-196999-2}}</ref>

The position of Milos, between mainland Greece and [[Crete]], and its possession of obsidian, made it an important centre of early [[Aegean civilisation]]. Milos lost its arms-making importance when [[bronze]] became the preferred material for the manufacture of weapons.<ref name="Chalk and Jonassohn, 65">Chalk and Jonassohn, 65</ref>

===The Bronze Age===
The first settlement at [[Phylakopi]] ([[Greek language|Greek]] Φυλακωπή) arose in the [[Bronze Age]], flourishing as the extraction of obsidian was in the decline. The first settlers were [[tuna]] fishermen.<ref name=abulafia/> Lying on the north-east coast, 1896 excavations by the [[British School at Athens]] and later in 1973 by the British archaeologist [[Colin Renfrew]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6kp93vv|title=Renfrew, Colin|access-date=2023-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.in2greece.com/english/places/summer/islands/milos/archaeological-site-of-phylakopi.html|title=Archaeological Site of Phylakopi|access-date=2023-09-13}}</ref> revealed a town wall and a [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]]-inspired structure, dubbed the Pillar room, which contained fragments of vivid wall paintings. The famous fresco of the flying fish<ref name=fish>[http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/cyptg.html Flying fish] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022133000/http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/cyptg.html |date=2015-10-22 }}</ref> was found in the ruins of the Pillar room and was executed with delicate colouring and graphic observation of nature in the graceful movement of a fish. Stylistic similarities to Minoan [[fresco]]es are suggested, and it could perhaps have been the work of a Cretan artist.<ref>CAH pg. 448</ref> Part of the site has been washed away by the sea.

The antiquities found at the site covered three major periods, from the Early [[Cycladic culture|Cycladic period]] to the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]]. At the site much pottery was excavated, with several changing styles and influences over the site's long occupation. In the early occupation of the site, there are many similarities and imports from other Cycladic islands and the settlement was very small. During the [[Middle Bronze Age]] however, the site expanded significantly and the expansion of Minoan Crete saw an influx of Minoan pottery into the Cyclades, particularly at [[Akrotiri (prehistoric city)|Akrotiri]] on [[Thera]], though much found its way to Phylakopi. The quantities found at the Cycladic sites have been taken to suggest a Minoan control over the region, though it could also be the consumptive nature of the islanders adopting Cretan fashions. There is more than just pottery at Phylakopi however, the eruption of the Thera volcano saw a reduction in Minoan presence in the Cyclades and it is at this time that Mycenaean involvement on the islands increases. At Phylakopi (and unknown in the rest of the Cyclades) a [[megaron]] structure, which is typically associated with the Mycenaean palaces, such as those at [[Tiryns]], [[Pylos]] and [[Mycenae]] has been discovered. This has been taken to suggest that the Mycenaeans conquered the settlement and installed a seat of power for a governor. The evidence is not clear, though again it could be a legacy of the islanders adopting foreign elements into their culture. Particularly unexpected was the discovery in the 1970s of a shrine at the site, which contained many examples of [[Aegean Islands|Aegean]] figurines, including the famous "Lady of Phylakopi". The shrine is unprecedented in the Bronze Age Cyclades and has provided a valuable insight into the beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants of Phylakopi. The site was eventually abandoned and was never reoccupied.

===Dorian settlement===
{{Annotated image
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| caption = The approximate location of the ancient Dorian city, prior to the siege of 416 BC.<ref>Based on a map by Brian Sparkes, published in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}.</ref>
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{{Annotation|130|95| '''★''' | text-align=right | font-size=16 | background-color= | color=#66FF00}}
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The first Dorian settlement on Melos was established no earlier than the 1st millennium BC. [[Dorians]] are the ethnic group to which the [[Spartans]] belonged, but the Dorian settlers of Melos made themselves independent. They eventually established a city whose site lies on the eastern shore of the bay, just south-west of the present-day community of [[Trypiti]].

From the 6th century BC up to the siege of 416 BC, Melos issued its own coinage, struck according to the [[Miletus|Milesian]] weight standard: the base coin was the ''[[stater]]'' which weighed just over 14 grams.<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 230: "Melian coins of the late sixth and fifth centuries are of silver [...] and based on the Milesian weight standard."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Gardner|1918}}: "Already, in the sixth century, Melos struck coins on a different standard from that of most of the other islands of the Aegean, the stater weighing about 224 grains (grm. 14.50). Certain coins of the Santorin find (p. 122) are not of Aeginetan but of this Phoenician weight."</ref><ref>According to the website of Robert J. O'Hara (http://rjohara.net/coins/history/), a Lydo-Milesian ''stater'' weighed 14.10 grams.</ref> Melos was the only island in the Aegean Sea to use this standard.<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 47</ref> Most coins bore the image of an apple, which is a pun because the ancient Greek word for "apple" (''mêlon'') sounded similar to the name of the island.<ref>{{harvp|Hill|1899|p=176}}</ref> The coins also often bore the name of its people: ΜΑΛΙΟΝ (''Malion'') or some abbreviation thereof.<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 230</ref>

By the 6th century BC, the Melians had also learned to write, and they used an archaic variant of the [[Archaic Greek alphabets|ancient Greek script]] that exhibited [[Crete|Cretan]] and [[Thera]]ic influences. It was discarded after the siege of 416 BC.<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!||[[Α]]||[[Β]]||[[Γ]]||[[Δ]]||[[Ε]]||[[Ϝ]]||[[Ζ]]
![[Η]]||''[[Heta (letter)|Η]]''||[[Θ]]||[[Ι]]||[[Κ]]||[[Λ]]||[[Μ]]||[[Ν]]
![[Ξ]]||[[Ο]]||[[Pi (letter)|Π]]||[[Ϻ]]||[[Ϙ]]||[[Ρ]]||[[Sigma|Σ]]||[[Τ]]||[[Υ]]
![[Φ]]||[[Χ]]||[[Ψ]]||[[Ω]]
|-
![[Laconia]]<br/>(Sparta)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Alpha 09}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Beta 15}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Gamma 02}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Delta 03}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Epsilon 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Digamma oblique}}{{GrGl|Digamma normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Zeta archaic}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Eta archaic}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Theta archaic straight}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Iota normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Kappa normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Lambda normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Mu 02}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Nu archaic}}
| style="background-color: #FFB0B0 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Chi normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Omicron normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Pi rounded}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | 
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Rho 01}}{{GrGl|Rho 03}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Sigma Z-shaped}}{{GrGl|Iota 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Tau normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Upsilon Twig-shaped}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Phi normal}}
| style="background-color: #FFB0B0 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Psi straight}}{{GrGl|Chi 05}}
| style="background-color: #FFB0B0 !important; color: black !important;" | (φσ)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
|-
![[Attica]]<br/>(Athens)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Alpha 06}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Beta 15}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Gamma 02}}{{GrGl|Gamma 09}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Delta normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Epsilon 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Digamma oblique}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Zeta archaic}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Eta archaic}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Theta archaic straight}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Iota normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Kappa normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Lambda Athenian}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Mu 06}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Nu archaic}}
| style="background-color: #D0D0FF !important; color: black !important;" | (χσ)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Omicron normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Pi archaic}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Koppa normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Rho 01}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Sigma Z-shaped}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Tau normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Upsilon Twig-shaped}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Phi normal}}
| style="background-color: #D0D0FF !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Chi normal}}
| style="background-color: #D0D0FF !important; color: black !important;" | (φσ)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
|-
![[Melos]]
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Alpha 04}}
| style="background-color: #B0B0B0 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Beta 05}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Gamma 07}}<br/>{{GrGl|Gamma 03}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Delta normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Epsilon 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Zeta archaic}}
| style="background-color: #FFFF90 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Eta normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Eta normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Theta archaic straight}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Iota Z-shaped}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Kappa 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Lambda 09}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Mu 04}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Nu archaic}}
| style="background-color: #E0FFE0 !important; color: black !important;" | (κϻ)
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Gamma C-shaped}}<br/>{{GrGl|Omicron normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Pi archaic}}
| style="background-color: #B0B0B0 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Mu 03}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Koppa normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Rho 01}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | –
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Tau normal}}
| style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Upsilon V-shaped}}
| style="background-color: #E0FFE0 !important; color: black !important;" | (π''h'')
| style="background-color: #E0FFE0 !important; color: black !important;" | (κ''h'')
| style="background-color: #E0FFE0 !important; color: black !important;" | (πϻ)
| style="background-color: #FFFF90 !important; color: black !important;" | {{GrGl|Omicron normal}}
|-
|}
[[File:5th century BC Melian stater.jpg|thumb|upright|A Melian ''stater'' from the 5th century.]]
[[File:Triton Theseus Louvre MNC746.jpg|thumb|upright|Melian [[terracotta]] relief depicting Triton and Theseus.]]
From at least as early as 470 BC and ending with the siege of 416 BC, the Melians exported [[Melian reliefs|terracotta reliefs]], which were typically use as door or chest ornaments and depicted scenes from mythology.

During the [[second Persian invasion of Greece]] in 480 BC, the Melians refused to submit to [[Persia]] and contributed two warships to the Greek war effort, which were used at the [[Battle of Salamis]].<ref>Herodotus. ''The Histories'', 46-48: "The [[Serifos|Seriphians]], [[Sifnos|Siphnians]], and Melians also took part, since they were the only islanders who had not given earth and water to the barbarian. [...] All of these came to the war providing [[trireme]]s, except the Melians and Siphnians and Seriphians, who brought fifty-oared boats. The Melians (who are of [[Laconia (ancient region)|Lacedaemonian]] stock) provided two; the Siphnians and Seriphians, who are [[Ionians]] from [[Athens]], one each. The total number of ships, besides the fifty-oared boats, was three hundred and seventy-eight."</ref> After the battle, the Melians returned to their traditional isolationism.<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 49</ref>

===Siege of 416 BC===
{{See also|Siege of Melos}}
During the [[Peloponnesian War]] (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, the Melians made some small donations to the Spartan war effort,<ref>Geoffrey Ernest Maurice de Ste Croix (1954). "The Character of the Athenian Empire". An essay originally published in ''Historia'' 3, republished in {{harvp|Low|2008|pp=245–246}}: "Epigraphic evidence allows us to go further still: it puts the original Athenian attack on Melos in quite a different light. The inscription found near Sparta [...] records two separate donations by Melos to the Spartan war-funds, one of twenty Aeginetan minae [...] The other figure has perished. The donors are described, it will be noticed, as ''toi Malioi'', 'the Melians'. [...] This shows that the Melian subscription was an official one. [...] there is good reason to think these gifts to Sparta were made in the spring of 427."</ref><ref>The evidence is an inscription (IG V 1, 1) which reads: "The Melians gave to the Lacedaimonians twenty mnas of silver." See {{harvp|Loomis|1992}}, p 13</ref> but remained largely neutral despite sharing the Spartans' [[Dorians|Dorian]] ethnicity. In 426 BC, the Athenians raided the Melian countryside, and the following year demanded tribute,<ref>Brian Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=49}}</ref> but Melos refused. In the summer of 416 BC, Athens invaded again with 3,400 men, and demanded that Melos ally with them against Sparta, or be destroyed. The Melians rejected this, so the Athenian army laid siege to the city and eventually captured it in the winter.  After the city's fall, the Athenians executed all the adult men,<ref>Thucydides. ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', 116<br/><br/>The key word in the account by Thucydides is ''hebôntas'' (ἡβῶντας), which generally describes people who have passed puberty and in this context refers to the men as Thucydides described a different fate for the women and children. Some translators such as Rex Warner translated this as "men of military age". Another possible translation is "men in their prime". Thucydides made no specific mention of what happened to the elderly males.</ref> and sold the women and children into slavery. They then settled 500 of their own colonists on the island.<ref>Thucydides. ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', 5.84-116</ref>

In 405 BC, with Athens losing the war, the Spartan general [[Lysander]] expelled the Athenian settlers from Melos and repatriated the survivors of the siege.<ref name=Xenophon229>Xenophon. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0206%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D9 ''Hellenica'', 2.2.9]: "Meantime Lysander, upon reaching Aegina, restored the state to the Aeginetans, gathering together as many of them as he could, and he did the same thing for the Melians also and for all the others who had been deprived of their native states."</ref><ref name=Plutarch144>Plutarch. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0048%3Achapter%3D14%3Asection%3D3 ''Life of Lysander'', 14.3]: "But there were other measures of Lysander upon which all the Greeks looked with pleasure, when, for instance, the Aeginetans, after a long time, received back their own city, and when the Melians and Scionaeans were restored to their homes by him, after the Athenians had been driven out and had delivered back the cities."</ref> Sparta annexed Melos, which would mean that like other liberated islands, it received a military governor (a ''[[harmost]]'').<ref>Brian Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=49-50}}: "Melos thus passed from Athenian to Spartan control, and the Melians who returned found a government of ten established, made effective by the presence of a Spartan garrison and of a ''harmost'' or military commander."</ref> The cultural distinctiveness of Melos faded away as it was absorbed into mainstream Greek culture.<ref name=Sparkes1982>Brian Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}</ref> Their coinage switched to the Rhodian standard<ref>Brian Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 231</ref> ([[tetradrachm]]s weighing 15.3 g<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rjohara.net/coins/history/#weights|title=History, Metals, and Weight Standards (Ancient Coins of Miletos)|first=Robert James (1959-)|last=O'Hara|website=rjohara.net|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref>) and ceased bearing the word ΜΑΛΙΟΝ. The production of its [[terracotta]] reliefs also ceased.

===The Hellenistic period===
In 338 BC, [[Philip II of Macedon]] defeated the Greeks at the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeroneia]] and became the [[overlord]] of Greece and the [[Cyclades]]. During this time, Melos and the nearby island [[Kimolos]] disputed each other over the ownership of the islands of [[Polyaigos]], Heterea, and Libea (the last two are probably today's uninhabited islands of [[Kimolos|Agios Efstathios and Agios Georgios]]). In the past, this dispute would have been settled by war, but the two communities took their dispute to [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] on the Greek mainland. The [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argives]] decided the islands belonged to [[Kimolos]].<ref>Brain Sparkes, in {{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982}}, p 50</ref>

===The Roman and Byzantine period===
In 197 BC, the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] forced Philip V to withdraw from Greece, and Melos subsequently came under Roman influence.

During the early 9th century CE the [[Cyclades]] were harassed by [[Arab]] raiders, though how Milos fared at this time is unclear. Milos was mentioned in a [[Byzantine]] [[chrysobull]] of 1198, which shows it was still important to the Byzantines.<ref>{{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=58}}</ref>

===Medieval period===
[[File:I Milos - Buondelmonti Cristoforo - 1420.jpg|thumb|Fifteenth century map by [[Cristoforo Buondelmonti]].]]
In the aftermath of the [[Fourth Crusade]] (1204), the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] [[Marco I Sanudo|Marco Sanudo]] seized control of Milos and a number of other islands in the [[Cyclades]]. Sanudo declared himself the [[Duchy of Naxos|Duke of Naxos]], after the island where he established his capital. Sanudo did not make his duchy a vassal of Venice, but instead declared loyalty to the [[Latin Empire|Latin Emperor]].<ref>{{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=58-69}}</ref> Sanudo's dynasty lasted nine generations, then was succeeded by the [[Francesco I Crispo|Crispos]]. Both families were [[Catholic]]. The majority of the population was (and still is) [[Greek Orthodox]].

Up to this point, the population of Melos was overwhelmingly Greek Orthodox Christian, just like the rest of the archipelago. When the Venetians conquered the archipelago, they brought Catholicism with them. The first Catholic bishop of Milos was appointed in 1253.<ref name="GCatholic.org - Diocese of Milos">{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/milo0.htm|title=Diocese of Milos, Greece|website=GCatholic|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref>

===Ottoman period===
In 1566 the Venetians handed over the Duchy of Naxos to the [[Ottoman Empire]], and its last Catholic duke fled to Venice. The Ottoman sultan [[Selim II]] appointed a [[Marrano|Portuguese Jew]] named [[Joseph Nasi]] as its duke. Upon Nasi's death in 1579, the Ottomans formally annexed the territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/milos/milos-history.htm|title=History of Milos island - Greeka.com|website=Greeka|access-date=25 March 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Femmes de MILO - Tournefort Joseph Pitton De - 1717.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Women's dress in the early 18th century.]]
In the early 18th century, the population surpassed 6,000<ref name=RenfrewWagstaff1982/> and was almost entirely Greek and Christian. It was ruled by Turkish judge or ''[[Kadi (Ottoman Empire)|kadi]]'', and a Turkish governor or ''[[voivode]]''. The ''voivode'' was responsible for collecting taxes and enforcing the decisions of the ''kadi''. The day-to-day affairs of the island were managed by three elected magistrates (''[[epitropos|epitropi]]''), although any of their decisions could be appealed to the ''kadi''. The island had two [[bishop]]s: one Greek Orthodox and one Latin Catholic. The Greek bishop was wealthier than his Latin counterpart, as he had a larger revenue base. Although the islanders enjoyed a great degree of autonomy, they chafed under the heavy taxation of their Ottoman overlords.<ref>{{harvp|Tournefort|1717|p=180-181}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Thompson|1752|loc=vol 1, p. 291-300}}</ref>

In 1771 the island was occupied by the [[Russian Empire]] for three years, then retaken by the Ottomans.

In the late 18th century, the population declined considerably for uncertain reasons.<ref>{{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=69}}</ref> By 1798, it had fallen below 500 people.<ref name=Olivier1801p156/> Visitors reported that up to two thirds of the buildings had fallen into ruin. It began growing again in the early 19th century, reaching 5,000 people by 1821.<ref name=RenfrewWagstaff1982p148/> Reliable figures are hard to find as the Ottoman Empire never performed a [[census]] before 1881.

===Modern period===
[[File:Adamas on Milos, 153208.jpg|thumb|The port of Adamas.]]
[[File:Chora Milos.jpg|thumb|Chora (Plaka) of Milos]]
Milos was one of the first islands to join the [[Greek War of Independence]] of 1821. The first naval battle of the war took place off the coast of Milos on 11 April 1821.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Milos island {{!}} Greeka |url=https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/milos/history/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=Greekacom |language=en}}</ref> Milos became a refuge for refugees from numerous islands, particularly Crete. The port town of [[Adamantas]] was founded by Cretan refugees from the [[Cretan Revolt (1841)|Cretan Revolt in 1841]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milos |url=https://www.greece.org/poseidon/work/islands2/cyclades/milos.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.greece.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Heikell |first=Rod |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gb_PDwAAQBAJ |title=West Aegean |date=2020-01-01 |publisher=Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson Ltd |isbn=978-1-78679-089-7 |pages=212 |language=en}}</ref>

When [[Theodore Bent]] toured the island in December 1883, note-taking for his guide to the Cyclades, he found that “There is a lack of energy nowadays in Melos, for [[Syros|Syra]] monopolises all the trade that once came here, and the Cretan exiles refuse to cultivate as they ought the fertile centre of the island, for they are only awaiting a favourable turn in events to return to their own island…”<ref>Theodore Bent, ''The Cyclades, or Life Among the Insular Greeks'' (London, 1885, pp. 57ff.).</ref>

During the 19th century, Milos was a major rendezvous point for American and British ships fighting Muslim pirates in the Mediterranean.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In February 1943, 14 male civilians were [[Milos executions|executed]] for collecting material owned by the [[Wehrmacht|German occupation forces]] that was washed up after the sinking of a cargo ship by Allied aircraft.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The population peaked in 1928 at 6,562 people.<ref>{{harvp|Renfrew|Wagstaff|1982|p=70}}</ref> In 2011 it was 4,977.